Tarptent Double Rainbow Double Wall Two Person Backpacking Tent Review

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This is my personal review of the Tarptent Double Rainbow Double Wall (DW). This is a lightweight, two person tent from Tarptent. I go through the specs, pros, cons, why I bought this specific tent, and my overall thoughts. This is a tent that I purchased myself, and my opinions are my own.
Important note This is the sil-nylon version. Shortly after I purchased this tent, Tarptent released a sil-poly version, and even more recently an ultra version. The weights will very slightly between these versions, and if anything the rainfly performance is probably better in the newer versions, but generally speaking, the features, performance, and function is the same.

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2 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 47

@twhis9843 5 месяцев назад

We just purchased the same tent in the 2023 model. We’ve used it once on a very wet, humid and cold, 7 day backpacking trip in British Columbia. Here is a quick synopsis of our experience. The conditions were very difficult for both of the tents we used. We were 3 people using the 2 person Rainbow DW and another 2 person tent we have used on numerous occasions. After 2 days we switched tents and used the Rainbow as a single. This was because the problems with condensation with 2 people in the Rainbow DW. To be fair, both tents had extreme condensation because of 80% humidity and temperature almost at freezing. But because the upper panels on the Rainbow inner walls are rather slack it is difficult to avoid brushing condensation from inside the fly into the living area. Those same upper mesh panel form a low angle from the corners to the apex of the cross bar. That low angle makes it difficult to avoid touching the mesh and hence brushing the fly walls. Now I’ll add some notes which may help you decide about purchasing this tent. First, this tent is very light and compressible. With 1.8 mm Dyneema lines at every guy point and fully seam sealed inside and out,the Rainbow still comes in at less than 3 lbs. With the aluminum pole. It doesn’t need to be rolled up but can be easily stuffed into the provided sack. The tent shed rain like a duck and the floor had no moisture forced up in-spite of being constantly on wet ground without a ground cloth throughout the trip. So as far as being weatherproof it was quite good. The Rainbow DW has, in my opinion, an overly large footprint. This was a factor in controlling condensation because we were seldom able to properly stake the tent out to its fullest. (This was in a dense mountainous area, heavily forested). That is problem with many modern tents and not unique to the Rainbow. But the Rainbow’s design makes full tension vital for even moderate air to circulate. I didn’t find the freestanding feature to really help. The center clip that attaches midway on the trekking pole does not provide the stability of a true freestanding tent. This is a tent that needs tight corner tension to be effective. So, if you anticipate this need for small footprints in the areas you may be camping you might consider this. So the drawback to this tent is a certain difficulty in controlling condensation and separating yourself from the moisture. This first test was about as extreme as can be in testing those qualities. In drier conditions with wider pitch this might not be as big an issue. But be aware, with too average size people, heads at one end, the practical space around you is limited.

@twhis9843 Месяц назад

I would like to add these additional comments after much further use with the DRDW. It has turned out to be a very good purchase. It is tight for two people and we can only sleep head to feet as it was intended. We usually use it as a single when we travel as a party of 3. My son, who is 6’1”, and I did use it as a two person tent on a 5 day mountain bike trip and we had no problems. However that trip was relatively dry with only one night of rain. We had two days where we could not find a decent site so pitched against a tree on one side and only extended the vestibule on one side to pull the floor taut. Worked out ok which showed us the tent had some versatility. Our last outing with it was where it really shone. My son used it as a single with us on a six day trip up the Hoh River in Olympic National Park. We were not lucky with the weather on this one and were in some sort of rain for all six days including a 72 hour period with extremely heavy rain that sometimes sounded as if buckets of water were being thrown on the fly. This made for flooded sites at every location. The TarpTent polyester fly never leaked a drop, never became saturated and the waterproof zippers never became gritty from the splash dirt. Most mornings the floor was sitting on 2” of water to the point where if my son tapped the floor waves would ripple across it like a waterbed. The floor never leak even though no ground cover was used. Really outstanding. The only difficulty was on take down, once the central pole was removed, the tent collapsed in on itself and took whatever moisture was with it into the interior of the tent. But the conditions were so wet that everytime we set up the new camp, everything had to be dried out with a towel anyway. So I’ll sum it up after 3 trips, one very cold (freezing) and very wet, one reasonably dry and buggy, and one an absolute soaker, that the TarpTent Double Rainbow Double Wall is a very good piece of equipment. We always seam seal thoroughly, inside and out. After the extreme rain conditions in the Olympics I’m very glad we did. We also always use the cross bar on the outside of the fly. It works much better it stopping condensation from collecting and dripping on the ends of the cross bar. We still have some learning to do to make this tent work in every condition but I can say now I would not hesitate to buy this tent again and look forward to its continued use. Happy Trails

@hmurling 22 дня назад

@@twhis9843If stuffing the tent in the included tent bag without the arch pole. Is it possible to achieve a similiar pack size to the Durston X-Mid 2? Ie 30x15cm

@twhis9843 21 день назад

@@hmurling I haven’t actually had my hands on the Durstun, but those are close to the stuff size of the DwDR. With 8 Ground Hog minis or a combo with the 6 Easton stakes it comes with it comes in just under 3 lbs. ( 1.36 kilograms). It has the feature where the tarp can be left on and pitched with the inner but when it has been as wet as we’ve used it we’ve removed the tarp and packed it separate. I’ve always used double walled tents but the single wall version of this tent with the drip cloth on the ceiling is intriguing to me. I think in wet conditions this is more of a single person tent. Condensation with two bodies in there was tough. Not because the fly was wetter than our other tents but because it is cramped for two people to move and not brush the walls. Let me know if I can answer any other questions. I didn’t like this tent on our first trip. With my wife and I in the Canadian coastal wilderness at the beginning of April it was just too tight in the cold and humidity. But it really won me over on this last trip in the Hoh Valley. Our other tent had seepage through the floor with a ground cloth but the Tarptent sat on 4cm of water and was dry. Can’t ask for more than that.

@kevinj.4847 18 дней назад

Great video and review but I have to say I really love the porch mode. Backpacking in wet or humid conditions really allows some extra cover and ventilation!

@P0rtScann3r Год назад

The porch mode comes in handy when you hike in rain and you need a place to cook out of the rain. In most situations you'll likely never use the porch mode. When you are above treeline and it's rainy, you'll love the porch mode.

@rext3404 Месяц назад

Late to the party, but my rainbow Li came in last week and the zipper is sealed now! They must have heard you, lol!

@justinhitsthetrail5225 Месяц назад

Nice! Hope you enjoy the tent! I wish the seam sealing was my influence, but all the Li series tents come seam sealed. Still gotta pay for it on the non-dyneema tents.

@troyjones4751 11 месяцев назад

Great review Justin! Don't need to see any other reviews now as your's was comprehensive. One question though, can you still have it tied down to the ground with the trekking (I've got the same ones as yours, trail ergo BD) poles installed?

@justinhitsthetrail5225 11 месяцев назад

Yeah you could still stake it down with the trekking poles in place. However, I do notice the bathtub floor doesn’t lay quite as nicely with the trekking poles in place, so unless you really need to use the trekking poles, I’d just stick to using the stakes for a better pitch. Though, on my most recent trip I managed to forget the stakes so I’m glad that the trekking pole setup is an option!

@hoser7706 2 месяца назад

Funny how in 2024 tents are being promotted with 50” wide floors fir 25” wide pads when 90s tents were 54-56” widecfor 2p and we all had 20” pads. 😬. Nice to see more symmetrical designs. Genius design for freestanding mode

@rickhenry9003 Месяц назад

Great review. How do you feel about the tent a year later?

@justinhitsthetrail5225 Месяц назад

Didn’t bring it on the PCT (wanted something lighter and bigger) but this’ll be the go-to for shorter trips. Love the ease of set up, and choosing to use the rain fly or not. It feels a bit small with two people inside if you’re in there for too long though. Like more than just sleeping.

@ivanhaiduk9666 Месяц назад

Only the one slider on the doors?

@justinhitsthetrail5225 Месяц назад

Two sliders on each door.

@natalieroy4849 Год назад

We have two 25 inch pads, I understand it's going to be a tight fit but it’s better than the tapered 2p tents. Do you think pushing up against the wall will cause moisture to get on the sleeping bags?

@justinhitsthetrail5225 Год назад

I think you’ll be okay. You’ll be pushing up against the mesh, but you’ll be far enough from the fly to worry about pressing against the condensation. Just be careful getting out of the tent with condensation on the doors as it does get in easy.

@natalieroy4849 Год назад

@@justinhitsthetrail5225 thanks! I think this tent will fit our needs really well.

@greybeardhikes2491 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for the review. You pitched this inner first: is there a pole sleeve on the rainfly allowing an outer first (or both together) pitch? This is a big deal for me as I'm in the UK and the rain is real...

@justinhitsthetrail5225 7 месяцев назад

There’s not a pole sleeve on the fly. However there’s a sleeve for the crossbar, and there are clips to attach the inner to the fly, so you can pitch it fly first. You would still need to insert the pole through the sleeve on the body though. Make sure you get the polyester or the pro version. After I used the nylon version in extensive rain, it sagged pretty bad. Whichever version you get, you’ll still probably bump your head into the top of a wet door too. I think this a great fair weather tent. Especially if you want to stargaze, but it wouldn’t be my top option if I knew I’d be in a lot of rain.

@greybeardhikes2491 7 месяцев назад

@@justinhitsthetrail5225 Thanks so much for your response and for responding so quickly.

@twhis9843 19 дней назад

@@greybeardhikes2491 I also live in very rainy climate, Pacific Northwest, so I am always looking for some way to pitch in wet conditions. I’ve had this tent since September 2023. I’ve used it 6 times and I’m still adjusting to it, a total of about 35 nights. The fly attached feature works well to keep it dry during setup but it also means you pack the wet fly in with the tent so on multi night trips everything is soaked anyway. So we started using them separately and put the tent down bunched, stake the fly loose on two corners, then push the pole into the sleeve under the fly. You can’t pitch the fly without the inner. I’ll tell you why I recommend this tent. We went through the worst 6 days worth of continuous rain I’ve ever been through and the TarpTent was outstanding. Not cold or windy but relentless downpour that saturated our other tent. No let up to dry even a little. The TarpTent never had floor seepage even sitting on 3 cm of water and the fly never leaked. I was very impressed. So even though I would have liked to have a sleeve in the fly, the tent was a remarkable performer.

@peterbennett4783 Год назад

Thanks for your time and effort in producing your honest ''hands on'' review. It is much appreciated by me as I am considering the very same tent; and I'm in no position to see the tent before purchasing as I'm Down Under in Victoria, Australia. Kind regards from Peter.

@justinhitsthetrail5225 Год назад

Glad it was helpful!

@hair2050 8 месяцев назад

Have you purchased one? I’m in Australia, NSW, and am considering this tent.

@Xhadp 5 месяцев назад

Good list of features! This tent seems really enticing to me because of the ability to do it freestanding with trekking poles. Probably the biggest don't like factor about this tent to me is sleeved poles. I guess it makes sense because that is the way the arch support works. But after dealing with ghetto backpacking tents for the longest time, sleeved pole inserts it is the worst so its kinda dumb that to do ultralight it loops back around to having sleeves for the freestanding option. This is the closest to a freestanding trekking pole tent option that exists. So, have to give them props for being the only company to come out with something for it but like, can others please come out and provide something?

@justinhitsthetrail5225 5 месяцев назад

The freestanding mode has definitely come in handy! Used it on hard to stake places a few times. I understand the sleeved pole concern, but it does maximize the space inside. You do think there would be more hybrid tents by now 🤷‍♂️

@twhis9843 19 дней назад

@@Xhadp I’m not a big fan of pole sleeves either. When I first got this tent I had difficulty getting the main arch pole through the sleeve and especially getting it out without the pole separating. The sleeve material, like the rest of the tent, is very lightweight material so it bunches easily. When I seam sealed the tent I thinned out some of the silicone to a watery state and coated the sleeve end to end. That did the trick. It stiffened the sleeve so it didn’t bunch and it works fine. The extra silicone was so thin it didn’t add any weight. This isn’t a low end tent. Being old and still having the mentality that all my tents must ride out Storm Of The Century conditions, I always have trouble when I see lightweight shelters. The DWDR has been a winner so far. Particularly our last trip where my son used it as a single in the rainiest 6 days I have ever experienced. Not windy but continuous downpour that never let up. He was completely dry except for slight condensation drip. The tent sat on deep puddles of water and never seeped, even without a ground cloth. Seriously bomber stuff. We thoroughly seamed sealed inside and out and that always makes a difference but the tent was remarkable. It isn’t perfect and is too tight for two in super wet conditions with two bodies worth of condensation. But it is high quality equipment. I’m still learning how to best use it but for now it has earned its respect. I don’t hesitate to recommend it.

@ellamaemunez1909 Год назад

does it come with apex grommets like in the regular double rainbow?

@begavic 8 месяцев назад

Also interested in this. Anyone?

@billcompton6050 Год назад

Justin I have the DCF version, and it works very well. Waterproofing is obviously not a problem. The setup is very easy and i like all the space. I use it for a single person. I had a zpacks duplex tent before. thank you bill compton

@justinhitsthetrail5225 Год назад

Nice! The dcf version would made a great one person tent. Nice and light with tons of space.

@steveh5169 Год назад

Nice video. Do you think you could fit one adult + 2 dogs somewhat comfortably. I have a 20" and 25" pad.

@justinhitsthetrail5225 Год назад

Yeah. I fit two adults with 25 and 20” pads. Swap one of those adults with 2 dogs and I think that’d work.

@walkman7073 11 месяцев назад

A different perspective... I kind of like the seam sealing "problem" with tarp tents. I had never done such a thing myself before buying one, and now I know exactly how to maintain my own tent say 5 years down the road when I feel it may be time to reseal the seams.

@twhis9843 10 месяцев назад

And doing it yourself when the tent is new adds years to a tents life. You can make the seams seals a centimeter wider than the sewn seem. It reinforces the weak area in the joined areas and really extends a tents life.

@philip771 10 месяцев назад

You highlighted a great point that I realised myself only this week; do you like it? There are so many reviews analysing gear but do you actually like it and enjoy using it. A personal and individual thing of course, but worth thinking about.

@christianbrodt9009 9 месяцев назад

Hi Is the vestibule Big enough to cook inside?

@justinhitsthetrail5225 9 месяцев назад

I wouldn’t cook in the vestibule. There’s probably adequate room at ground level, but the angle of the vestibule comes in too sharp imo. Top of the cook pot might be against the door… along with your face.

@roos698 Год назад

Been waiting for someone to do a review on this model !

@finneganmagee 10 месяцев назад

Great video just got the Ultra version.

@melissa.onthetrail 6 месяцев назад

How do you like it? I’m considering the ultra version.

@finneganmagee 6 месяцев назад

@@melissa.onthetrail waiting for ice out up here. Will have it out in April.

@kevinboyer6249 9 месяцев назад

Justin, what other 2 person tents were you considering before deciding on the Double Rainbow DW?

@justinhitsthetrail5225 9 месяцев назад

Six Moon Designs Lunar Duo Explorer or Big Agnes Tiger Wall 3. Wanted something 3 lbs or below that wasn’t a $600+ dyneema tent. Went with the Double Rainbow for the stargazability! It’s great for that when the weather is nice.

@kevinboyer6249 9 месяцев назад

Thanks Justin

@hair2050 8 месяцев назад

It’s been 5 months since this review. Can you please do an update?